I have not seen Def Leppard since the mid 90's way back when I was a younger whippersnapper and living in Vancouver so needless to say I was looking forward to checking out how they have progressed over the years.

I must say they brought it and then some! The show was the first in a string of dates on a mini-Canadian tour. I was really impressed with how much they (or appeared to be) wanted to be there. Def Leppard are a veteran rock band and now what buttons to press to get the crowd involved: shout out to Penticton - check!, interacting with the crowd - check, playing a huge amount of "hits" - check, and having fun - check!. All of these ingredients, combined, make for a solid rock show and a LOT of bands should learn from this and bake the same cake.

Here's the set list that was played in Penticton:

Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)

Animal

Foolin'

Promises

Paper Sun

Love Bites

Armageddon It

Bass Solo

Rock On (David Essex cover)

Two Steps Behind (acoustic/Joe only)

Rocket

Bringin' on the Heartbreak

Switch 625

Hysteria

Let's Get Rocked

Pour Some Sugar on Me

Encore:

Rock of Ages

Photograph

Opening Band "One Bad Son"

The "Banner" before the show.

Hailing from Saskatoon,opening band "One Bad Son" were very enthusiastic and hyperactive. They totally reminded me of a cross of the Black Crowes, Led Zeppelin, and Alice in Chains.

My two minor disappointment about the show were that they showed up onstage a bit late and that they never played some of the real "old school" Def Leppard songs other than that the show was great.

VIDEO CLIP #1: "Let's get rocked"

VIDEO CLiP #2: "ROCKET"

Now on to my ratings for this show....

The Band:

Def Leppard definitely delivered and were in top form. Considering that they have been playing for over 30 years some things have slipped a bit but that's easily forgiven. They played pretty well every big hit they had in their setlist.

The Crowd:

The crowd totally was into it and very jovial especially when the huge hits of "Love Bites", "Pour Some Sugar on Me", and "Rock Until You Drop" were played.

Audience Interaction & Engagement: A+Quality and Diversity of Music: BStage Presence of Band AEnergy from the Crowd: A

Next Up: A MONSTROUS show in Las Vegas: Skid Row, Great White, Extreme and Twisted Sister all in ONE night. This is Twisted Sister's last tour and only show (at present) in Western North America! Should be an AWESOME NIGHT.